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hillvalley

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Posts posted by hillvalley

  1. This years balls have us perplexed: half are floaters and half are sinkers. They were made from the same mix at the same time. All were cooked in the same pot in two batches (little ones then big ones) without changing the water. Two of the large ones sunk right away, the other eight floated. Half the small ones sunk, the other half floated.

    Any ideas why? Paging Zora...

  2. Yes, the service at The Coupe has room for improvement although it's better at the tables than in the couch area. But I disagree with the other comments about the food and pricing. And where else in DC can you sit for as long as you want, drink coffee, a smoothy or vodka, eat some of the best hasbrowns in the city, and not be bothered for hours? I haven't strayed much from the breakfast menu and those hashbrowns but I have yet to be disappointed with anything I ordered. The kale/apple smoothie makes any visit healthy eating.

    This is a diner with great couches, arm chairs and a bar. It doesn't try to be much else and succeeds.

  3. I'm usually not a huge Matchbox fan but the 14th street location was just what was needed yesterday afternoon. At 4:30 on a Sunday the options were limited and Bar Pilar was too loud. I'm also not a miniburger fan in general because it's hard to find them cooked to the perfect medium rare. The three I had yesterday were about as close to medium rare as a miniburger can get: juicy with good flavor. The only imperfection was there was not enough cheese for my taste but I'm a cheesy kind of gal. Another pleasant surprise was that we ordered six miniburgers, one without a specific type of cheese, and the burgers came out as requested. The girly cocktail also helped raise expectations. I don't know that I would rush back with all of the other options on 14th but given a similar situation I won't reject Matchbox the first time around.

  4. The lack of a new KBQ is due to bureaucrats getting in the way. KBQ had hoped to be open by now in Columbia Heights but had the rug pulled out from beneath them at the end of last year.

    KBQ has submitted preliminary paperwork for another place in DC and hope to start the permit process soon. I'll post the new location when they have signed the lease.

    They are as eager to reopen as we are.

  5. Bourdain's participation in this show is proof that he is officially a sellout.

    The only thing left is to wait for his cookware line to be sold on QVC. Then we will know the apocalypse has finally arrived.

  6. The chair comment made me laugh. I am really short and so many chairs and barstools are just horrendous. If I have to worry that planning my mount/dismount from a barstool might cause the thing to tip over (and therefore requires a spotter), I am not coming back. In general, it seems that places who have the least "creative" seating often have the most comfortable seating. Nothing wrong with a "captain's chair" barstool, or a plain, lightly padded banquet chair.

    Amen. It takes more effort to gracefully climb up onto a bar stool while being charming and looking good than people over 5'4" realize. Add in a couple of strong drinks and we deserve medals.

  7. Back in our eGullet days either Al Dente or Waitman told me to throw some anchovie paste into my tomato sauce and when braising short ribs. It provides a layer of umami I haven't been able to gain from other ingredients.

  8. Homemade challah and butter
    Pizza with caramelized onions and buffalo mozzarella
    Homemade potato gnocchi
    Short ribs braised in a tomato/black olive goodness
    Sautéed veggies with lots of garlic
    Almond cake
    Flour-less chocolate torte*
    Scotch
    Wine from Minnesota that tasted like wine from Minnesota

    *On NYE the six year old was told he could have anything he wanted from the bakery. The dad assumed he'd pick a cookie or cupcake but instead he chose the torte. It was so rich 10 adults only ate half.

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